This invention relates to a device to assist in the installation of a child safety restraint seat of the type designed to rest on a vehicle seat and to be secured to the vehicle seat by a vehicle lap or shoulder belt which passes between the child restraint occupant and the vehicle seat.
A common design of a child safety restraint seat includes a transverse channel or path in a base or frame for receiving a seat belt of the lap or shoulder type in a tie-down arrangement. The male metal engagement plate of the seat belt buckle passes through the child safety restraint seat and is coupled to a mating female buckle on the other side, thereby securing the child safety restraint seat to the vehicle.
Often, the transverse channel or path the male metal engagement plate and fabric belt must take through the base or frame of the child safety restraint seat is smaller than a person""s hand or arm and/or is not a straight smooth path for the seat belt to transverse. This makes it difficult to thread the seat belt through the child safety restraint seat and to secure the safety seat to the seat of a vehicle.
Various aids for threading a seat belt through a child safety restraint seat have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,176 to Reese shows one such design. The device of Reese is designed so that the male engagement plate of the seat belt must go past the hinged/base end of the hook, past the point of the hook, and then back to the hinged/base end in order for it to be engaged. This arrangement makes the device of Reese difficult to use. Also, in this device, the hinged/base end of the hook must be smaller than the hole in the male engagement plate of the seat belt. Because the holes used in the design of many of the male engagement plates used in vehicles today are quite small, the hook of the Reese device also must be made very small to accommodate different male engagement plates. When the hooks are made so small, the hook member will have insufficient strength and durability needed for repeated use.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a device to assist a user in installing a child safety restraint seat in a vehicle that is strong, durable, inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to produce.
This invention provides a simple tool to aid in threading a seat belt through the frame or base of a child safety restraint seat without putting undue stress on the installer.
One embodiment of the device according to the invention includes an elongated handle member and a pocket member located at one end of the elongated handle member. This pocket member includes: at least one wall that defines a chamber to receive a portion of a seat belt mechanism, an open face of sufficient size to allow the portion of the seat belt mechanism to enter into the chamber, and a slot defined in the wall, wherein the slot is sized and located so as to allow a restraining band portion of the seat belt mechanism to extend outside the chamber and to retain the portion of the seat belt mechanism within the chamber when the handle member is pulled.
In a more specific embodiment of the invention, the wall of the pocket member may include an end wall portion and a side wall portion, wherein the slot extends from the open face and partially through the end wall portion. More specifically, the wall of the pocket member may include at least two side wall portions and an end wall portion, wherein the slot extends from the open face and partially through the end wall portion. Even more specifically, the wall of the pocket member may include; a proximal end wall portion; a distal end wall portion; and three side walls extending between the proximal end wall portion and the distal end wall portion, wherein the open face of the pocket member is located between two of the three side walls, and wherein the slot extends from the open face and partially through the distal end wall portion.
Preferably, the pocket member is integrally formed with the elongated handle member, and each are formed from a flexible but rigid material, such as plastic.
Another embodiment of the device according to the invention includes an elongated handle member having a first end and a second end; and a spring hook mechanism located proximate the second end of the elongated handle member, wherein the spring hook mechanism includes: (a) a base portion connected with the elongated handle member, wherein a connection joint between the base portion and the elongated handle member is located a first distance from the first end of the elongated handle member, and (b) a free hook end extending from the base portion toward the second end of the elongated handle member, wherein the free hook end includes a hook member for engaging a portion of the seat belt mechanism, wherein the hook member is located a second distance from the first end of the elongated handle member, and wherein the first distance is less than the second distance.
In this embodiment of the invention, a base surface may be provided proximate the second end of the elongated handle member, wherein the free hook end of the spring hook mechanism extends above the base surface. A hole may be defined through the elongated handle member proximate the second end at the base surface, wherein the base portion of the spring hook mechanism is located at one side of the hole, and wherein the free hook end of the spring hook mechanism extends over the hole.
Also, in this embodiment of the invention, the spring hook mechanism may be integrally formed with the elongated handle member. Preferably, the spring hook mechanism is rigid but flexible, advantageously made from a plastic material.